ASPARAGUS FESTIVAL INCLUDES TASTY 'TIPS'

STOCKTON, Calif. -- There are lots of steamy cooking "tips" at the second annual Asparagus Festival staged in the heartland of California's farming country.

About 5,900 pounds, nearly 3 tons, of the tasty member of the lily family were consumed by 42,363 people at last year's first asparagus shindig, and festival officials expect to sell double that portion during the April 25-26 weekend at Stockton's Oak Grove Regional Park.

"This is the fresh asparagus capital of the world," said Joe Travale, executive director of the area's Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "There's about 200 things you can do with it."

Of official dishes served al fresco along "Asparagus Alley" during the festival, the deep-fried asparagus has proven the most popular, Travale said. "A lot of people walk in saying they don't like the vegetable but walk away eating deep-fried asparagus or other dishes and loving it," Travale said. Available for asparagus lovers who want to experiment with the spear- shaped vegetable is an official festival cookbook titled, Asparagus All Ways ... always (Celestial Arts, Berkeley, Calif. $7.95). It contains history, lore and 150 recipes collected from the kitchens of local farmers.

Some asparagus "tips" are to select fresh vegetables with firm, straight stalks, making sure they have a rich, green color and closed, compact spears. They should be crisp and uniformly sized for even cooking.